It’s what the pros do, so I might as well do it too.
That’s the basic sentiment from 17-year old Battalion Right Winger Brandon Coe who finds himself not on a beach as most kids his age would be at this time of year, but instead is in the gym and on the ice five to six times a week, as he prepares for what could be a make or break year for his professional hockey playing prospects.
“Usually, guys around the league and guys in the pros are training five to six times a week so I decided that is a good standard to follow and try to better myself as much as I can heading into the season,” says Coe.
“I’m skating four to five times a week as well and trying to improve my game as much as I can moving forward into my draft year.”
He’s going into his third year with the North Bay Battalion after being drafted in the 1st round (3rd overall) by the Troops in the 2017 OHL Priority Selection. In each of his first two years, Coe has improved in the numbers he has produced.
From 10 goals and 23 points in his rookie season, Coe helped out the Troops by firing in 17 goals and finishing with 37 points, good for fifth-most on the team. There were also stretches last year in which Coe showed flashes of his extreme upside. It took him 11 games to score his first goal of the year, but then he posted four goals and five points over a six-game stretch.
From December 28th to January 10th, he had nine points (three goals) in seven games. He also scored five goals in six games, (include one in four straight contests) from February 3rd to February 18th.
More of that is what is on his mind when he’s sweating the days away in the gym or on the ice, “putting up better numbers than I did last year, helping the team as much as I can and getting drafted,” are the goals for Coe this year.
The NHL entry draft is just under a year away for Coe and he is determined to have one of the 31 National Hockey League General Managers call him in June.
“It’s not hard to stay motivated when you see the guys in the NHL lifting the Stanley Cup and making big money,” the Ajax native says.
“It’s just the sacrifices you have to make as a hockey player, you can’t go out every night. You have to have your priorities to go to the gym every day, skate and just better yourself and that’s my motivation. I just watched all the NHL playoff games and that’s where I want to be.”
With his birthday being December 1st, Coe is in a unique situation where he has two years of experience already under his belt before he is draft eligible. He says he hopes all that extra game time and preparation can give him a leg up on the competition within his draft class.
He says, “the more games you play in the OHL you get more of an experience of what to expect in the following years so I’m hoping to use that this season.”
Coe shared a line last year with long-time friend Mason Primeau who was just selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the draft just last month. Coe and Primeau played together with the Toronto Nationals Minor Midget program before being reunited in North Bay last season through a trade with the Guelph Storm.
“I talked to him a little bit and I congratulated him on draft day,” says Coe about Primeau who is the first Battalion player drafted since Cam Dineen, Mark Shoemaker and Brett McKenzie were all taken in 2016.
“I told him how proud I am of him. I’ve known him for a long time and it’s really cool to see him take that next step.”
It’s likely the two will be paired again throughout this season as both Coe and Primeau are going to be looked upon for leadership both on and off the ice. Every year, every team in the Ontario Hockey League will be losing some key older players through the graduation process and for the Battalion, one of those players is the franchises all-time leader in goals scored in a season, Justin Brazeau. His record-setting 61-tallies last year were a large part of the Battalion’s success in getting to the playoffs. Coe says with Brazeau moving on, he wants his role to expand.
“Going into my third year, I want to be that guy that (Head Coach) Stan (Butler) looks to and can trust and hopefully I can be that for him.”
Coe continues, “I think we also just can’t rely on one or two guys this season. Last year, you look at the stats sheet and most games it was either Matt Struthers or Justin Brazeau putting up all the points. We have to get together as a team and improve all around and I think we can go further that way.”
He adds he likes the group of returning players that are going into their third years including himself, Primeau, and Mitchell Russell, “I think we have a great core of guys that are going into our third years and I think we’re going to have some big summers to be able to step it up and I think we’re going to have a good year.”
